Fantasy Baseball 2019: Week 17 Weekend Waiver Wire Adds

As another week comes to a close, there are plenty of players you can add to your fantasy baseball team to end the week with a win.

The waiver wire continues to lose valuable players with each passing week. If you’re not searching for any type of improvement to your fantasy baseball team, then you might as well give up. There is still plenty of time left to the season to make a turnaround.

The waiver wire is how you do that. Analyze your team, find out what stats you’re lacking in and find a player that can help you. That last part is the tricky part. While a player may have had a two-week stretch of success, they can easily fall into a slump or get hurt.

The opposite is also true. A player who goes 0-40 could easily get hot and have some fantasy baseball value, depending on your expectations. It’s all a gamble with some winners and some losers. But, that’s half of the fun.

This week, I broke my waiver adds into four tiers. So, you’ll have a chance to target players with all types of ownership percentages based on ESPN leagues.

Time’s Almost Up (35-49 percent)

Keston Hiura: I still can’t believe he’s still available in more than half of leagues. Since coming back up to Milwaukee on June 28, Hiura is slashing .360/.421/.674. Now, he doesn’t have that much power, only five home runs in that span, he has eight doubles and two triples. Hiura was on an 11-game hitting streak earlier this month.

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He’s going to get a lot of opportunities to drive in and score runs. Hiura is hitting in almost every spot in the Brewers lineup. With the offense has deep as it is, Hiura will rack up the counting stats.

Kole Calhoun: The Angels outfielder has been hitting the ball well this month. Since the All-Star break, he has a .289 average with four home runs and seven RBI.

If you’re looking for someone with a good on-base percentage, Calhoun is a good option as he has a .400 OBP since the break.

The team context isn’t the greatest as the Angels are hitting .258 this month. Even with his home-run stretch, Trout has a .231 average over the last week.

Calhoun is heating up in the summer months.

Andrew Miller: The Cardinals closer situation hasn’t been ideal. Once Jordan Hicks went down, the Cardinals have been struggling to find a consistent closer.

John Gant was getting looks before Carlos Martinez started taking over. But Miller is also recorded a save here and there.

In July, Miller has a 2.45 ERA, 11:2 K: BB ratio, two saves, and five holds. With saves becoming more spread about among bullpens, finding a reliable relief pitcher is harder. Take any save you can get, plus the extra strikeouts can’t hurt.

Must-Adds (25-34 percent)

Oscar Mercado: I’ve mentioned Mercado multiple times since he was called up. He has a .302 average, four home runs, 12 RBI and three steals since the break. The Indians are making a push for the division and Mercado’s success has been a big part.

He isn’t much of a power hitter so don’t expect this stretch of home runs often. He can help with speed which is a hard stat to improve at this point in the season. Outfield is deep, even with platoon options, so finding value is not hard.

Ian Kennedy: Can you guess who leads the league in saves for the month of July? Yes, it’s Ian Kennedy. While the Royals are 23.5 games back in the AL Central, they are 7-3 in their last 10 and Kennedy has eight saves this month.

The starter-turned-reliever has a 3.40 ERA this season. He had one bad outing on July 5, giving up two runs for a blown save. Since then, he’s recorded eight straight save chances. Like Miller, ride the train while you can. Who knows where Kennedy may be pitching once the trade deadline passes?

Future Starters (15-24 percent)

Reynaldo Lopez: One of two pitchers in this tier, Lopez has looked good in recent starts. He struggled in May and June but settled down in July. In his last three starts, Lopez has a 1.71 ERA, 25:4 K: BB ratio, .222 opponent average, and a 1-1 record.

His 25 strikeouts are the second-most in a three-game span this season. He’s been good for most of the season with his control. The downside is that his pitch counts get high very quickly. Lopez averages 99 pitches and 5.66 innings per start.

Lopez makes his next start at home against the Mets on July 30. That is a very favorable start.

Mike Leake: Leake was one hit and one walk away from a perfect game a week ago. He’s head three good starts this month. The four-run, 0.2-inning start will skew some of the numbers though.

Even with that start, he has a 2.59 ERA, 22:2 K:BB ratio and a 2-1 record. The Mariners offense is struggling this month with a .240 average and 71 runs scored in 18 games. Leake is pitching well enough to earn a quality start while racking up the strikeouts.

He faces the Rangers on the road in his next start.

Sleeper Status (0-14 percent)

Phillip Ervin: Ervin may not be starting every day, but as a bench player, he’s providing some fantasy value. He has a .450 average with a home run, eight RBI, eight runs and three steals this month.

The Reds are falling back in the standings which may lead to more playing time for Ervin. There are rumors of Yasiel Puig being available for trade, so that will free up a spot in the lineup. In the meantime, he’s splitting time with Jesse Winker.

Brandon Crawford: Another non-power hitter, Crawford is proving his worth in other ways. He has a .302 average with four home runs, 12 runs, and 15 RBI after the break.

The Giants are one of the hotter teams this month. Crawford is hitting fifth in the Giants order, between a mixture of cleanup hitters and Mike Yastrzemski. Playing a position with little depth, Crawford is worth an add.

Brad Keller: The last player on this list, Keller has been good for most of the season and really good in July. In his four starts, he has a 1.33 ERA, 19:8 K:BB ratio and a 3-0 record. Keller has six quality starts in his last 10 games.

The Royals may be sellers by the trade deadline but the offense is hitting good enough to give him run support for a win. The negative is that if you’re looking for innings, Keller may not be your guy. He averages six innings per start.

The waiver wire is getting thinner each week. Adding a player with even the slightest fantasy value could make this difference in a head-to-head matchup for a couple of points in roto leagues. Thanks for hanging out with FanSided fantasy!